


Braiding

by lesbianettes



Category: Raya and the Last Dragon (2021)
Genre: F/F, Hair Braiding, Pining, Tenderness, Water
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-23 22:53:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30062766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lesbianettes/pseuds/lesbianettes
Summary: Namaari braids Raya's hair.
Relationships: Namaari/Raya (Disney)
Comments: 13
Kudos: 225





	Braiding

The repaired Dragon Gem is returned to the Heart region of Kumandra. The people have not been able to completely reunite yet- it is a slow process- but they are trusting of one another in a way they have not been for five hundred years. Heart, Fang, Spine, Talon and Tail are all merely regions of the greater nation of Kumandra. Raya stays in Heart, because it is her home and where her father resides, gently providing rule to the reunited Kumandra. Namaari, on the other hand, returns often and long to Fang because it is her home, the same way Heart is Raya’s.

It is a sunny monday evening when Namaari returns from her latest excursion to Fang. Raya, for her part, is relaxing by the river, hands buried in her wet hair. She’s clearly just been bathing. Though there are plenty of places to bathe inside the palace, she admitted once that she feels more at home in nature. She sits in a damp tunic at the water’s edge, slowly combing through her hair, a Goddess under the fading sun that begs to be worshipped. Namaari would gladly fall to her knees at Raya’s altar. Instead she smiles and goes to her side, finding a seat in the mud that will stain her own royal tunic. 

“Are there no showers in Heart?”

Raya laughs, a sound that reminds Namaari of music in her youth. “You know I prefer the river.”

She keeps combing through her wet hair, causing water to run in rivulets down one bare shoulder. Namaari tracks its progress with her eyes, trying not to appear too invested in its path. Such a thing would never be acceptable. Namaari forces her gaze up to Raya’s face, nearly drowning in the warmth of her smile. She wonders what it would be like to feel those smiling lips against her own. Would they be soft? She imagines so. Namaari hides the thought as deep in her mind as she can manage to push it. It’s not becoming of her to think of women in such a manner, let alone Raya. But oh by the brightest of stars is Raya lovely. 

“Help me part my hair?”

Without waiting for an answer, Raya hands Namaari the comb. To touch Raya, to be this near to her, is a punishment as much as a gift, and Namaari has to pause to control her breathing before she kneels in front of Raya and carefully parts her hair. She's so slow, but careful, parting it the same way she does her own when she needs to redo her braid. Once it's done, she helps section off the parts for Raya's braids as well.

"I might as well braid it for you too," she says softly. 

Raya, whose eyes have drifted shut, hums. "I wouldn't say no."

Namaari takes the section in her hand and divides it in three, starting at the top and pulling more sections from under as she goes in order to make a beautiful braid that lies flat against the top of Raya’s head, tying it off with a ribbon when she reaches the base of Raya’s skull to let the rest flow free. At least, it will once Raya’s heavy hair dries enough to catch the wind that drifts through Heart’s valley. This wet, it simply lays against her back, shiny like the scales of a dark fish swimming through the river. Raya usually twists it up into a messy bun when it’s this wet, but if she wants it styled, she must have some engagement to attend to with her father. She is still a princess, after all, even more so than Namaari is. Her own title was stripped alongside Fang’s rule over their own land. Her mother, once powerful and regal, is now a simple citizen. She rules over the region, but with little power- what Chief Benja of Heart says is what is passed on, what is obeyed. He wound up with Kumandra in his fist, and eventually, it will settle into Raya’s palm. Namaari tries not to resent her for it.

Once she finishes the second braid, she lets her fingers skate through Raya’s wet hair, pretending not to notice how it has wet Raya’s loose tunic enough to stick to her back. Namaari resolutely does not picture the way it would feel under her feather light touch. She is too enraptured with Raya, she knows, but there is nothing she can do that makes it go away. Believe her, she has tried. Time and time again. But she is so far gone for Raya that no hand can pull her from the darkness. She’s already too deep under the water. Not even Sisu could stop her from drowning now. 

“You’re thinking too hard, Dep La, you might hurt yourself,” Raya teases. Then she sobers up. “Is there trouble in Fang?”

“No, everything is great at home.”

Raya sets a hand on Namaari’s shoulder and rubs her arm with her thumb in a gesture intended to soothe. It only encourages the rapid beating of Namaari’s stricken heart, and her breath catches for a beat too long. She can’t enjoy this. She won’t let herself. 

“Namaari, are you alright?”

“I’m fine, Raya.”

Evidently, Raya doesn’t believe her, because she shifts to cup Namaari’s face and comes closer, leaving mere centimeters between their lips. Namaari swallows. “Something is wrong, tell me. I’m worried about you.”

Namaari looks away. She wants to kiss her. But such a thing is unthinkable. Unwanted. She knows how angry Raya would be if Namaari did such a thing. Not only would it offend and upset her, it would violate the fragile trust they’ve built as Raya starts to question every friendly tease, every backward glance, every action. Namaari cannot put either of them through that. She insists again, quieter, “Everything is fine. I promise.”

Raya, unconvinced, doesn’t back off. Instead she stays there, watching, waiting, until Namaari can’t help but shut her eyes against the piercing gaze. She clenches her fists, remembering the feel of Raya’s hair. It’s not a memory she is permitted to keep. It must be enjoyed now, before the moment ends, and she’s forced to move past it all. 

“I don’t believe you.”

Abruptly, Raya stops touching her and stands up to leave.

**Author's Note:**

> tumblr @rayaofheart


End file.
